"They might actually be brothers!" Mu shrugged and joked with a laugh.
Badgiruel turned to glance at Mu upon hearing this, thought for a moment, and nodded. "Captain Flaga's theory isn't without merit."
"Given their current circumstances, it's possible this resulted from being adopted by different families," Mu looked at Murrue as he voiced his speculation again. Badgiruel didn't respond but nodded in agreement.
Murrue glanced at Mu upon hearing this, also feeling his conjecture was likely true.
"Alright! Let's stop dwelling on their matters. Right now, we should focus on solving our current problems, otherwise we'll never make it to JOSH-A Base."
Looking at the two women, Mu cut off the topic and reminded them again. After speaking, he turned and walked outside, adding, "You two think it over. I'm going to check on Kira."
Murrue and Badgiruel watched Mu leave before withdrawing their gazes and beginning to contemplate solutions.
Meanwhile, in Kira's room...
Having returned, Kira threw himself onto the bed as if discarding trash, his complex eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.
Various thoughts intertwined in his mind, with one standing out among the rest.
"Why does that person look so much like me?"
Full of confusion, Kira murmured to himself.
As he kept thinking, a sudden idea emerged in his mind. Under this thought, Kira's eyes widened, and he bolted upright from the bed, repeatedly denying, "Impossible! Impossible! It's impossible!"
Though he kept voicing these denials, a bitter smile spread across his face.
Ding-dong! Ding-dong!
Two doorbell chimes sounded.
Kira's thoughts were pulled back to reality. He looked toward the door, stood up, and went to open it.
"Mr. Mu!"
Seeing Mu at the door, Kira concealed his bitter smile and greeted him. Observing Kira's feigned calm and relaxed expression, Mu smiled kindly and asked gently, "May I come in and sit for a while?"
"Please come in!" Kira stepped aside, nodded slightly, and invited.
Mu entered Kira's room, and Kira closed the door behind him before walking toward the bed.
Sitting down and facing Mr. Mu, he asked, "Is there something you need, Mr. Mu?"
"Nothing urgent, I just came to chat with you." Mu smiled back at Kira. Then, leaning back with his hands supporting him on the bed, he adopted a relaxed and casual posture.
Kira lowered his head, his voice tinged with hidden conflict and frustration, and replied, "I'm sorry, but I don't feel like talking."
Hearing Kira's refusal, Mu paid no mind and began speaking on his own.
"Kira, I know some things are very difficult for you to accept." Mu looked up toward the ceiling as he spoke, continuing while gazing at it. "But sometimes the world is just a damn cruel place. It forces us to do some damn awful things and accept some damn awful outcomes."
"Mr. Mu, you don't need to say anymore."
Kira interrupted Mu, looking at him as he continued speaking.
"What you told me back then already made me understand. I know you had no choice but to act that way at the time."
"That's not what I'm talking about."
Mu shook his head and replied with a smile.
Hearing this, Kira immediately looked up at Mu and saw his sudden smile.
Mu stood up from the bed and moved over to Kira's side, sitting down and putting an arm around Kira's shoulder like a close friend.
"Don't worry about these external things. You are you, and he is he. You just need to be yourself. Who he is, what relationship he has with you - does it really matter?"
The words "does it really matter" kept spinning and echoing in Kira's mind. Under the impact of these words, images of his parents and friends appeared in his thoughts, washing away the questions that had been occupying his mind like a flood.
With the questions gone, a look of relief appeared on Kira's face.
Seeing the change in Kira, Mu patted his shoulder and stood up to leave when Kira called out to stop him.
"Mr. Mu, I want to send Lacus back!"
Hearing this, Mu paused mid-step and turned to look at Kira, asking tentatively.
"Now?"
"Yes, right now!"
Kira said with firm determination as he looked at Mu.
Mu felt a headache coming on and ran his hand through his hair while looking at Kira.
"Do you realize that if we send that young lady back now, we'll have no guarantees at all?"
"I know." Kira nodded, then continued with a shift in tone. "But I don't want what happened back then to occur again. I don't want unarmed civilians getting involved."
Seeing Kira's determination, Mu knew he couldn't persuade him to abandon this idea, so he could only offer an excuse.
"How about we wait until we develop a proper plan before doing this?"
As he spoke, Mu reminded Kira.
"We still need to ensure the safety of everyone on this ship!"
"I understand."
When he heard about the safety of everyone on the ship, Kira pressed his lips together and nodded in silent agreement.
Seeing this, Mu breathed a slight sigh of relief.
"I'll go discuss this with Murrue and the others."
With that, Mu turned and walked out of the room.
In Lacus's room at that moment...
"Miss Clyne, we'd like to make a deal with you."
Badgiruel sat facing Lacus, her expression serious and her voice earnest.
Lacus looked at Murrue and Badgiruel before her and smiled gently.
"You want me to stop the ZAFT Forces from attacking you?"
"Exactly!"
Badgiruel replied directly.
Murrue added after Badgiruel.
"Miss Clyne, besides us military personnel, our ship carries many civilians we rescued from Heliopolis.
They're all innocent."
Lacus, upon hearing this, stroked the Haro in her hands and nodded slightly at the two of them.
"Agreed!"
As soon as the two words of consent left her mouth, Lacus shifted her tone, her voice serious and earnest.
"But I have one condition!"
"Miss Clyne, please go ahead!"
Murrue and Badgiruel exchanged a glance before turning to Lacus and speaking simultaneously.
Lacus looked at the two of them, her expression stern, her voice resolute and leaving no room for refusal.
"Transfer all the civilians on this ship."
The two of them were taken aback by her words, with Badgiruel speaking up first.
"We don't have the appropriate vessels to transfer the civilians off this ship."
"You don't need to worry about that. I will make the necessary arrangements. All you need to do is answer whether you agree or not!"